Children Of Heaven

Written by Serena Berger

Children of Heaven is a wonderful film written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi. As with his other successful films, Color of Paradise, and The White Balloon, Majidi concerns himself with the tiny details of everyday life, the simple beauties, and what is universal about the human experience. It is no surprise that in doing this, he often finds himself focusing on children and attempting to use the camera to help us see through their eyes.

The Story of Children of Heaven

In Children of Heaven, Ali, a young boy, accidentally loses his sister Zahra's shoes. As he and his sister attempt to find them (all the while coping with only one pair of shoes), we as viewers we see the intimate details of their village life. Their parents are well-meaning, but overwhelmed with their own worries, and we see both their love and their frustration.

We also see honestly into the world of children. While their parents may be the strongest force in the lives of children, sibling love and competition plays a very strong role. There is also a manner in which children relate to their peers that most adults do not remember from their own lives, but Majidi helps us remember and sympathize.

Amir Farrokh Hashemian is a delight as Ali, as is Bahare Seddiqi as Zahra. Children of Heaven is a film anyone should consider viewing, especially showing to children, in any part of the world. Without preaching or having any intentional subtext, this movie shows us the intimate side of a culture Americans often view as irreconcilably foreign, and in so doing makes it less alien and encourages tolerance and peace.